Image encoding/decoding method and device

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for image encoding/decoding that support a plurality of layers. The method for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list, and the information of the first layer includes at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to image encoding and decoding, and moreparticularly, to a method for predicting, and encoding and decoding animage of a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in imageencoding and decoding in a multi-layer structure.

2. Related Art

In recent years, while a multimedia environment has been built up,various terminals and networks have been used and the resulting userequirement has been diversified.

For example, as a performance and a computing capability of a terminalhave been diversified, a supported performance has also been diversifiedfor each apparatus. Further, in the case of a network in whichinformation is transmitted, a pattern, an information amount, and atransmission speed of the transmitted information, as well as anexternal structure such as wired and wireless networks have beendiversified for each function. A user has selected a terminal and anetwork to be used according to a desired function and further,spectrums of a terminal and a network which an enterprise provides tothe user have been diversified.

In this regard, in recent years, as a broadcast having a high definition(HD) resolution has been extended and serviced worldwide as well asdomestically, a lot of users have been familiar with a high definitionimage. As a result, a lot of image service associated organizations havemade a lot of efforts to develop a next-generation image apparatus.

Further, with an increase in interest in ultra high definition (UHD)having four times higher resolution than an HDTV as well as the HDTV, arequirement for technology that compresses and processes a higherresolution and higher definition image has been further increased.

In order to compress and process the image, inter prediction technologyof predicting a pixel value included in a current image from atemporally prior and/or post image, intra prediction technology ofpredicting another pixel value included in the current image by usingpixel information in the current image, and entropy encoding technologyof allocating a short sign to a symbol in which an appearance frequencyis high and a long sign to a symbol in which the appearance frequency islow, and the like may be used.

As described above, when respective terminals and networks havingdifferent supported functions, and the diversified user requirements areconsidered, a quality, a size, a frame, and the like of a supportedimage need to be consequently diversified.

As such, due to heterogeneous communication networks, and terminalshaving various functions and various types of terminals, scalabilitythat variously supports the quality, resolution, size, frame rate, andthe like of the image becomes a primary function of a video format.

Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a scalability function so as toachieve video encoding and decoding in terms of time, space, imagequality, and the like in order to provide a service required by the userunder various environments based on a high-efficiency video encodingmethod.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and anapparatus for encoding/decoding a higher layer by using information of alower layer in scalable video coding.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and anapparatus for mapping a lower layer image in scalable video coding.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method andan apparatus for configuring a reference picture list of a higher layerimage by using a lower layer image and performing a prediction inscalable video coding.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers. The methodfor image decoding includes decoding information of a first layer whicha picture of a second layer including a current decoding target blockrefers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture sizeof the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for thepicture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of thefirst layer and generating prediction samples of the current decodingtarget block by predicting the current decoding target block of thesecond layer based on the reference picture list.

The information of the first layer may include at least one of a samplevalue and motion information of the first layer picture.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus for image decoding supporting a plurality oflayers. The apparatus for image decoding includes a decoding modulewhich decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a secondlayer including a current encoding target block refers to and aprediction module which maps the information of the first layer to apicture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture listfor the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information ofthe first layer, and generates prediction samples of the currentdecoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block ofthe second layer based on the reference picture list.

The information of the first layer may include at least one of a samplevalue and motion information of the first layer picture.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.The method for image encoding includes decoding information of a firstlayer which a picture of a second layer including a current encodingtarget block refers to, mapping the information of the first layer to apicture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture listfor the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information ofthe first layer and generating prediction samples of the currentencoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block ofthe second layer based on the reference picture list.

The information of the first layer may include at least one of a samplevalue and motion information of the first layer picture.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, thereis provided an apparatus for image encoding supporting a plurality oflayers. The apparatus for image encoding includes an encoding modulewhich decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a secondlayer including a current encoding target block refers to and aprediction module which maps the information of the first layer to apicture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture listfor the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information ofthe first layer, and generates prediction samples of the currentencoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block ofthe second layer based on the reference picture list.

The information of the first layer may include at least one of a samplevalue and motion information of the first layer picture.

In the related art, during mapping motion information of a lower layer,even when a temporal motion vector of a higher layer is not predicted,there is a problem that an unnecessary motion information mappingprocess is performed. Further, when the motion information of the lowerlayer is not mapped, since a decoded picture of the lower layer can beindicated as a collocated picture for the temporal motion vector in theupper layer, a case in which the temporal motion vector of the upperlayer cannot be predicted occurs, thereby degrading encoding efficiency.

According to the present invention, the motion information of the lowerlayer to which the upper layer refers is mapped in an image size of theupper layer and thereafter, the upper layer is predicted andreconstructed by using an image signal of the lower layer which ismapped, thereby improving encoding/decoding efficiency. Further, bymodifying an upper level syntax, an unnecessary mapping process of themotion information of the lower layer can be skipped and complexity canbe reduced. In addition, a wrong collocated picture is prevented frombeing used to prevent the encoding efficiency from being degraded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatusfor image encoding in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatusfor image decoding in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a scalablevideo coding structure using a plurality of layers in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for performingan interlayer prediction (interlayer prediction) in scalable videocoding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrated for describing an interlayermotion information mapping method in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing theembodiments of the present specification, when it is determined that thedetailed description of the known art related to the present inventionmay obscure the gist of the present invention, the correspondingdescription thereof may be omitted.

It will be understood that when an element is simply referred to asbeing ‘connected to’ or ‘coupled to’ another element without being‘directly connected to’ or ‘directly coupled to’ another element in thepresent description, it may be ‘directly connected to’ or ‘directlycoupled to’ another element or be connected to or coupled to anotherelement, having the other element intervening therebetween. Moreover, acontent of describing “including” a specific component in thespecification does not exclude a component other than the correspondingcomponent and means that an additional component may be included in theembodiments of the present invention or the scope of the technicalspirit of the present invention.

Terms such first, second, and the like may be used to describe variouscomponents, but the components are not limited by the terms. The aboveterms are used only to discriminate one component from the othercomponent. For example, without departing from the scope of the presentinvention, a first component may be referred to as a second component,and similarly, a second component may be referred to as a firstcomponent.

Further, components described in the embodiments of the presentinvention are independently illustrated in order to show differentcharacteristic functions and each component is not constituted byseparated hardware or one software constituting unit. That is, eachcomponent includes respective components which are arranged for easydescription and at least two components of the respective components mayconstitute one component or one component is divided into a plurality ofcomponents which may perform their functions. Even an integratedembodiment and separated embodiments of each component is also includedin the scope of the present invention without departing from the spiritof the present invention.

Further, some components are not requisite components that performessential functions but selective components for just improvingperformance in the present invention. The present invention may beimplemented with the requisite component for implementing the spirit ofthe present invention other than the component used to just improve theperformance and a structure including only the requisite component otherthan the selective component used to just improve the performance isalso included in the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatusfor image encoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

A scalable video encoding apparatus that supports a multi-layerstructure may be implemented by extending a general image encodingapparatus having a single-layer structure. The block diagram of FIG. 1illustrates an embodiment of an image encoding apparatus which may be abasis of the scalable video encoding apparatus which may be applied tothe multi-layer structure.

Referring to FIG. 1, an image encoding apparatus 100 includes an interprediction module 110, an intra prediction module 120, a switch 115, asubtractor 125, a transform module 130, a quantization module 140, anentropy encoding module 150, a dequantization module 160, an inversetransform module 170, an adder 175, a filter module 180, and a referencepicture buffer 190.

The image encoding apparatus 100 may encode an input image in an intramode or an inter mode and output a bitstream.

In the intra mode, the switch 115 may be switched to intra and in theinter mode, the switch 115 may be switched to inter. The intraprediction means an intra-screen prediction and the inter predictionmeans an inter-screen prediction. The image encoding apparatus 100 maygenerate a prediction block for an input block of the input image andthereafter, encode a residual between the input block and the predictionblock. In this case, the input image may mean an original picture.

In the intra mode, the intra prediction module 120 may generate theprediction block by performing a spatial prediction by using a pixelvalue of an already encoded/decoded block adjacent to a current block.The intra prediction module 120 may perform the spatial prediction byusing a reference sample and generate prediction samples for the currentblock.

In the inter mode, the inter prediction module 110 may acquire a motionvector by finding an area of a reference image stored in the referencepicture buffer 190 which most matches the input block during a motionprediction process. The inter prediction module 110 corrects a motion byusing the motion vector and the reference image stored in the picturebuffer 190 to generate the prediction block for the current block.

In case of the multi-layer structure, the inter prediction applied inthe inter mode may include an inter-layer prediction. The interprediction module 110 configures an inter-layer reference picture bysampling a picture of the reference layer and encapsulates theinter-layer reference picture in the reference picture list to performthe inter-layer prediction. An inter-layer reference relationship may besignaled through information that specifies inter-layer dependence.

Meanwhile, when a current layer picture and the reference layer picturehave the same size, sampling applied to the reference layer picture maymean generation of a reference sample by sample copying or interpolationfrom the reference layer picture. When the current layer picture and thereference layer picture have different resolutions, the sampling appliedto the reference layer picture may mean up sampling.

For example, as a case in which layers have different resolutions, theinter-layer reference picture may be configured by up-sampling thereconstructed picture of the reference layer between layers that supportscalability regarding the resolution.

A layer picture used for configuring the inter-layer reference picturemay be determined by considering encoding cost, and the like. Theencoding apparatus may transmit, to the decoding apparatus, informationthat specifies the layer to which the picture to be used as theinter-layer reference picture belongs.

Further, a picture used to predict the current within a layer which isreferred to in the inter-layer prediction, that is, the reference layermay be a picture of the same access unit (AU) as the current picture (aprediction target picture within the current layer).

The subtractor 125 may a residual block by a residual between the inputblock and the generated prediction block.

The transform module 130 transforms the residual block to output atransform coefficient. Herein, the transform coefficient may mean acoefficient value generated by converting the residual block and/or aresidual signal. Hereinafter, in this specification, the transformcoefficient is quantized and a quantized transform coefficient level mayalso be called the transform coefficient.

When a transform skip mode is applied, the transform module 130 may skiptransforming the residual block.

The quantization module 140 quantizes an input transform coefficientaccording to a quantization parameter to output a quantized coefficient.The quantized coefficient may be called the quantized transformcoefficient level. In this case, the quantization module 140 mayquantize the input transform coefficient by using a quantization matrix.

The entropy encoding module 150 performs entropy encoding based onvalues calculated by the quantization module 140 or an encoded parametervalue calculated during encoding to output the bitstream. The entropyencoding module 150 may entropy-encode information (for example, asyntax element, and the like) for video encoding in addition to pixelinformation of a video.

The coding parameter is a parameter required for encoding and decoding,and may include information encoded in the encoding apparatus to betransferred to the decoding apparatus like the syntax element andinformation to be inferred during the encoding or decoding process.

The coding parameter may include values or statistics of for example, anintra/inter prediction mode, a movement/motion vector, a reference videoindex, an encoding block pattern, presence of a residual signal, atransform coefficient, a quantized transform coefficient, a quantizationparameter, a block size, block segment information, and the like.

The residual signal may mean a difference between an original signal anda prediction signal, and may also mean a signal having a transformedform of the difference between the original signal and the predictionsignal or a signal having a transformed and quantized form of thedifference between the original signal and the prediction signal. Theresidual signal may be referred to as a residual block in a block unit.

In the case where the entropy encoding is applied, a few of bits areallocated to a symbol having high occurrence probability and a lot ofbits are allocated to a symbol having low occurrence probability toexpress the symbols, and as a result, a size of a bitstream for encodingtarget symbols may be reduced. Accordingly, compression performance ofvideo encoding may be enhanced through the entropy encoding.

The entropy encoding module 150 may use encoding methods such asexponential-Golomb, context-adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC), andcontext-adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) for the entropyencoding. For example, the entropy encoding module 150 may performentropy encoding by using a variable length coding/code (VLC) table.Further, the entropy encoding module 150 derives a binarization methodof a target symbol and a probability model of a target symbol/bin, andthen may also perform the entropy encoding by using the derivedbinarization method or probability model.

Since the image encoding apparatus 100 according to the embodiment ofFIG. 1 performs inter prediction encoding, that is, inter-screenprediction encoding, a currently encoded image needs to be decoded andstored to be used as the reference image. Accordingly, the quantizedcoefficient may be inversely quantized in the dequantization module 160and inversely transformed in the inverse transform module 170. Theinversely quantized and inversely transformed coefficient is added tothe prediction block by the adder 175 and a reconstructed block isgenerated.

The reconstructed block passes though the filter module 180, and thefilter module 180 may apply at least one of a deblocking filter, asample adaptive offset (SAO), and an adaptive loop filter (ALF) to thereconstructed block or a reconstructed picture. The filter module 180may be called an adaptive in-loop filter. The deblocking filter mayremove block distortion which occurs on a boundary between blocks. TheSAO may add an appropriate offset value to a pixel value in order tocompensate for coding error. The ALF may perform filtering based on avalue acquired by comparing the reconstructed image and the originalimage. The reconstructed block which passes through the filter module180 may be stored in the reference picture buffer 190.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagedecoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A scalable video decoding apparatus that supports the multi-layerstructure may be implemented by extending a general image decodingapparatus having the single-layer structure. The block diagram of FIG. 2illustrates an embodiment of an image decoding apparatus which may be abasis of the scalable video decoding apparatus which may be applied tothe multi-layer structure.

Referring to FIG. 2, an image decoding apparatus 200 includes an entropydecoding module 210, a dequantization module 220, an inverse transformmodule 230, an intra prediction module 240, an inter prediction module250, an adder 255, a filter module 260, and a reference picture buffer270.

The image decoding apparatus 200 may receive a bitstream output by anencoder and decodes the received bitstream in the intra mode or theinter mode, and output the reconstructed image, that is, thereconstructed image.

In the intra mode, the switch may be switched to ‘intra’, and in theinter mode, the switch may be switched to ‘inter’.

The image decoding apparatus 200 may acquire a reconstructed residualblock from the received bitstream and generate a block reconstructed byadding the reconstructed residual block and the prediction block aftergenerating the prediction block, that is, the reconstruction block.

The entropy decoding module 210 entropy-decodes the input bitstreamaccording to probability distribution to generate information such as aquantized coefficient and a syntax element.

The quantized coefficient is inversely quantized by the dequantizationmodule 220 and inversely transformed by the inverse transform module230. The quantized coefficient is inversely quantized/inverselytransformed, and as a result, the reconstructed residual block may begenerated. In this case, the dequantization module 220 may apply aquantization matrix to the quantized coefficient.

In the intra mode, the intra prediction module 240 may performs aspatial prediction and generate prediction samples for the current blockby using a sample value of an already decoded block adjacent to thecurrent block.

In the inter mode, the inter prediction module 250 compensates for amotion by using a motion vector and a reference picture stored in thereference picture buffer 270 to generate the prediction block for thecurrent block.

In case of the multi-layer structure, the inter prediction applied inthe inter mode may include the inter-layer prediction. The interprediction module 250 configures an inter-layer reference picture bysampling a picture of the reference layer and encapsulates theinter-layer reference picture in the reference picture list to performthe inter-layer prediction. An inter-layer reference relationship may besignaled through information that specifies inter-layer dependence.

Meanwhile, when a current layer picture and the reference layer picturehave the same size, sampling applied to the reference layer picture maymean generation of a reference sample by sample copying or interpolationfrom the reference layer picture. When the current layer picture and thereference layer picture have different resolutions, the sampling appliedto the reference layer picture may mean up sampling.

For example, as a case in which layers have different resolutions, theinter-layer prediction is applied between the layers that supportsscalability regarding the resolution, the inter-layer reference picturemay be configured by up-sampling the reconstructed picture of thereference layer.

In this case, information that specifies the layer to which the pictureto be used as the inter-layer reference picture belongs may betransmitted from the encoding apparatus to the decoding apparatus.

Further, a picture used to predict the current within a layer which isreferred to in the inter-layer prediction, that is, the reference layermay be a picture of the same access unit (AU) as the current picture (aprediction target picture within the current layer).

The reconstructed residual block and the prediction block are added bythe adder 255, and as a result, the reconstructed block may begenerated. In other words, a residual sample and a prediction sample areadded to each other, and as a result, a reconstructed sample or areconstructed picture is generated.

The reconstructed picture is filtered by the filter module 260. Thefilter module 260 may apply at least one of a deblocking filter, an SAO,and an ALF to the reconstructed block or the reconstructed picture. Thefilter module 260 outputs a modified or filtered reconstructed picture.The reconstructed image is stored in the reference picture buffer 270 tobe used in the inter prediction.

Further, the video decoding apparatus 200 may further include a parsingunit (not illustrated) parsing information regarding the encoded videoincluded in the bitstream. The parsing unit may include the entropydecoding module 210, and may also be included in the entropy decodingmodule 210. The parsing unit may also be implemented as one constituentelement of the decoding unit.

Although it has been described that one encoding apparatus/decodingapparatus processes encoding/decoding of multi-layers in FIGS. 1 and 2,it is for easy description and the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatusmay be configured for each layer.

In this case, the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus of a higherlayer may perform encoding/decoding of the corresponding higher layer byusing information of the higher layer and information of the higherlayer. For example, the prediction unit (inter prediction unit) of thehigher layer may perform the intra-prediction or inter-prediction forthe current block by using pixel information or picture information ofthe higher layer, and perform the inter-prediction (inter-layerprediction) of the current block by receiving the reconstructed pictureinformation from the lower layer and using the same. Herein, only theinter-layer prediction has been described as an example, but theencoding apparatus/decoding apparatus may perform encoding/decoding fora current layer by using information of a different layer regardless ofthe encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus being configured for eachlayer or one apparatus processing the multi-layers.

In the present invention, the layer may include a view. In this case,the prediction of the higher layer is not just performed by using theinformation of the lower layer, but the inter-layer prediction may beperformed by using information of a different layer among layers thatare specified to be dependent by information that specifies inter-layerdependence.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a scalablevideo coding structure using a plurality of layers according to anembodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, a group of picture (GOP)represents a picture group, that is, a group of pictures.

A transmission medium is required to transmit image data and performancethereof is different for each transmission medium according to variousnetwork environments. The scalable video coding method may be providedto be applied to various transmission media or network environments.

The video coding method (hereinafter, referred to as ‘scalable coding’or ‘scalable video coding’) supporting the scalability is a codingmethod that increases encoding and decoding performances by removinginter-layer redundancy by using inter-layer texture information, motioninformation, a residual signal, and the like. The scalable video codingmethod may provide various scalabilities in spatial, temporal, quality,and view terms according to surrounding conditions such as transmissionbit rate, transmission error rate, a system resource, and the like.

Scalable video coding may be performed by using a multiple-layerstructure so as to provide a bitstream which is applicable to variousnetwork situations. For example, a scalable video coding structure mayinclude a basic layer that compresses and processes the image data byusing the general image decoding method and may include an improvementlayer that compresses and processes the image data by using bothdecoding information of the basic layer and the general decoding method.

A base layer may be referred to as a base layer or a lower layer. Anenhancement layer may be designated as an enhancement layer or a higherlayer. In this case, the lower layer may represent a layer that supportslower scalability than a specific layer and the higher layer mayrepresent a layer that supports higher scalability than a specificlayer. Further, a layer referred to for encoding/decoding of a differentlayer may be called a reference layer and a layer encoded/decoded byusing the different layer may be a current layer. The reference layermay be a lower layer than the current layer and the current layer may bea higher layer than the reference layer.

Herein, a layer means a set of images and bitstreams that aredistinguished based on a space (for example, an image size), a time (forexample, a decoding order, an image output order, and frame rate), imagequality, complexity, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 3, for example, the basic layer may be defined asstandard definition (SD), a frame rate of 15 Hz, and a bit rate of 1Mbps, and a first enhanced layer may be defined as high definition (HD),a frame rate of 30 Hz, and a bit rate of 3.9 Mbps, and a second enhancedlayer may be defined as ultra high definition (4K-UHE), a frame rate of60 Hz, and a bit rate of 27.2 Mbps.

The format, frame rate, bit rate, and the like as one embodiment may bedecided differently as necessary. Further, the number of used layers isnot limited to the embodiment and may be decided differently accordingto a situation. For example, if a transmission bandwidth is 4 Mbps, datamay be transmitted at 15 Hz or less by decreasing the frame rate of theHD of the first enhancement layer.

The scalable video coding method may provide spatial, temporal, quality,and view scalabilities by the method described in the embodiment of FIG.3. In this specification, the scalable video coding has the same as thescalable video encoding in terms of encoding and the scalable videodecoding in terms of decoding.

Generally, in the prediction between the screens, at least one of aprevious picture or a next picture of the current picture is referred toas a reference picture, and prediction for the current block may bepreformed based on the reference picture.

A video used for the prediction of the current block is referred to as areference picture or a reference frame.

A region in the reference picture used for predicting the current blockmay be represented by using a reference picture index refIdx indicatingthe reference picture, the motion picture, and the like.

In the prediction between the screens, the reference block correspondingto the reference picture and the current block in the reference pictureis selected to generate the prediction block for the current block. Inthe inter-screen prediction, the prediction block may be created so thata residual signal with the current block is minimized and the size ofthe motion vector is also minimized.

In order to use the information of the reference picture in theinter-prediction, information of neighboring blocks positioned aroundthe current block may be used. For example, the inter-prediction mayadopt a skip mode, a merge mode, an advanced motion vector prediction,or the like according to a method using the information of theneighboring blocks. The skip mode, the merge mode, and the AMVP mode maygenerate the prediction block for the current block based on theinformation of the neighboring block.

The skip mode may use the information of the neighboring block for thecurrent block as it is. Accordingly, in the case where the skip mode isapplied, the encoder may transmit information that indicates whichneighboring block to use motion information of as the motion informationof the current block to the decoder and besides, does not transmitsyntax information such as a residual, and the like to the decoder.

The merge mode may generate the prediction block for the current blockby using the motion information of the neighboring block. When the mergemode is applied, the encoder may transmit to the decoder informationthat indicates whether to apply the merge mode to the current block,which neighboring block to use motion information of, and residualinformation on the current block, and the like. The decoder generatesthe prediction block for the current block by using the motioninformation and adds the generated prediction block and the residualtransmitted from the encoder to reconstruct the current block.

The AMVP may predict the motion vector of the current block by using themotion information of the neighboring blocks. When the AMVP is applied,the encoder may transmit to the decoder information that indicates whichneighboring block to use motion information of, a difference between amotion vector of the current block and a predicated motion vector, areference picture index that indicates the reference picture, and thelike. The decoder predicts the motion vector of the current block byusing the motion information (motion vector) of the neighboring block,and may induce the motion vector of the current block by using themotion vector difference received from the encoder. The decoder maygenerate the prediction block for the current block based on the inducedmotion vector and the reference picture index information received fromthe encoder.

In case of the inter prediction, the decoder may verify a skip flag, amerge flag, and the like that are received from the encoder and inducemotion information required for the inter-prediction of the currentblock (for example, information regarding a motion vector, a referencepicture index, and the like) according to the verified information.

A processing unit in which the prediction is performed may be differentfrom a processing unit in which a prediction method and a detailedcontent are determined. For example, the inter-prediction or theintra-prediction may be determined by the coding unit (CU), and aprediction mode for the intra-prediction and a prediction mode for theinter-prediction may be determined by the prediction unit (PU).Alternatively, the prediction mode is determined by the prediction unit,and as a result, the prediction may be performed by the transform unit(TU).

Meanwhile, since an inter-layer strong correlation is present in thescalable video coding structure that supports the plurality of layers,when the prediction is performed by using the correlation, a duplicativeelement of data may be removed and encoding performance of the image maybe improved. Accordingly, when a picture (image) of the current layer(higher layer) which is encoded/decoded is predicted, theinter-prediction or the intra-prediction using information of thecurrent layer and the inter-layer prediction using information of adifferent layer may be performed.

Since the plurality of layers may be different from each other in termsof at least one of a resolution, a frame rate, a color format, and aview (that is, an inter-layer scalability difference), signal distortionmay occur in the inter-layer prediction for the current layer and theresidual signal may be increased.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method that may performthe inter-prediction for the current layer by mapping the motioninformation of the reference layer (lower layer) which the current layer(higher layer) refers to in an image size of the current layer andthereafter, adding the mapped motion information to the referencepicture list of the current layer.

Further, the present invention relates to encoding and decoding of animage including a plurality of layers or views, and the plurality oflayers or views may be expressed as first, second, third, and n-thlayers or first, second, third, and n-th views.

Hereinafter, in the embodiment of the present invention, an image inwhich the first layer and the second layer are present is described asan example, but the embodiment may be applied even to an image in whichmore layers or views than the first layer and the second layer in thesame method as above. Further, the first layer may be expressed as thelower layer, the base layer, or the reference layer and the second layermay be expressed as the higher layer, the enhancement layer, or thecurrent layer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for performingan interlayer prediction (interlayer prediction) in scalable videocoding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Themethod of FIG. 4 may be performed by the image encoding apparatus ofFIG. 1 or the image decoding apparatus of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 4, the encoding/decoding apparatus decodes informationof a first layer which an image (picture) of a second layer refers to(S400).

As described above, the second layer means a layer that performsencoding/decoding at present and may be a higher layer that provideshigher scalability than the first layer. The first layer may be a layerreferred to for encoding/decoding the second layer, and may bedesignated as the reference layer or the lower layer.

The encoding/decoding apparatus may decode and use the first layer bythe reference signal for predicting an encoding/decoding target block inthe image of the second layer.

Information (decoding target information of the first layer) of thefirst layer to be decoded may include a sample value and motioninformation of a first layer image (picture). Herein, the motioninformation may include regarding a motion vector value, a referencepicture index, a prediction direction indicator, a reference picture POC(picture order count), a prediction mode, a reference picture list, amerge flag, a merge index, a picture type (a short-term referencepicture or a long-term reference picture) of the reference picture, andthe like.

Decoded motion information of the first layer may be compressed andstored by a unit block having a size of N×N. For example, the decodedmotion information of the first layer may be compressed and stored every16×16 blocks.

The encoding/decoding apparatus maps the decoded information of thefirst layer to an image size of the second layer (S410).

Herein, mapping may represent sampling a sample of an image in order toadjust an image size or a resolution when images are different from eachother in size or resolution, and may include sampling of a sample valueof the image and motion information of the image.

In other words, the encoding/decoding apparatus may sample the decodedfirst layer image and refer to a sample information and motioninformation of the sampled first layer image, in order to map thedecoded first layer image to a size of the second layer image.

Since sizes of images of layers may be different in the scalable videocoding structure, when sizes of the images between the layers (betweenthe first layer and the second layer) are different, theencoding/decoding apparatus may resample samples values of the decodedfirst layer image in order to map the size of the decoded first layerimage to the image size of the second layer.

For example, when the size of the decoded first layer image is 960×540and the size of the image of the second layer is 1920×1080, theencoding/decoding apparatus may perform upsampling of mapping the sizeof the decoded first layer image to the size of 1920×1080 which is theimage size of the second layer. The upsampling may be performed in orderto adjust image sizes of layers having different image sizes, andinterpolation is applied to an image of a layer (the reference layer orthe lower layer) having a small image size, and as a result,interpolated samples are induced to adjust the image size.

The encoding/decoding apparatus may map the decoded motion informationof the first layer to the image size of the second layer to use themapped motion information of the first layer. Inter-layer motioninformation mapping of mapping the motion information of the decodedfirst layer image to the image size of the second layer may divide thesecond layer image into unit blocks having N×N and use the motioninformation of the first layer corresponding for each of the N×N unitblocks of the second layer to motion information of a correspondingblock of the second layer.

Hereinafter, an inter-layer motion information mapping method accordingto an embodiment of the present invention will be described through anembodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrated for describing an interlayermotion information mapping method in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an image of a second layer divided into unit blockshaving a size of N×N.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the image size of the secondlayer is 1920×1080 and N=16, the encoding/decoding apparatus may dividethe image of the second layer into total 8160 (16×16) unit blocks anduse motion information of a first layer block corresponding for eachunit block of the second layer as motion information of thecorresponding block of the second layer.

In this case, the motion information may be stored for each unit block.Alternatively, the motion information is stored in the form of a look-uptable for each picture to be used by referring to each unit block.

FIG. 6 illustrates N×N blocks of the second layer and as one example,illustrates a 16×16 block 600 in case of N=16. Respective quadrangles inthe 16×16 block 600 mean one sample and it is assumed that uppermost andleftmost sample position in the 16×16 block 600 is (xP, yP).

As described above, when the inter-layer motion information is mapped,the motion information of the first layer block corresponding for eachof the N×N unit blocks of the second layer is mapped to the motioninformation of the second layer to be used. In this case, the motioninformation of the first layer block corresponding for each of the N×Nblocks of the second layer may be motion information a first layersample position corresponding to a reference sample position of the N×Nblocks of the second layer.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the encoding/decoding apparatusdetermines as the reference sample position a position (xP+8, yP+8) inthe 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion informationof the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sampleposition (xP+8, yP+8) to perform the inter-layer motion informationmapping.

Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as thereference sample position the position (xP, yP) in the 16×16 block 600of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layersample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP, yP)to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.

Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as thereference sample position a position (xP+15, yP) in the 16×16 block 600of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layersample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+15,yP) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.

Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as thereference sample position a position (xP, yP+15) in the 16×16 block 600of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layersample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP,yP+15) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.

Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as thereference sample position a position (xP+15, yP+15) in the 16×16 block600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the firstlayer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position(xP+15, yP+15) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.

Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as thereference sample position a position (xP+1, yP+1) in the 16×16 block 600of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layersample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+1,yP+1) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.

The encoding/decoding apparatus may perform the inter-layer motioninformation mapping by using a difference reference sample position aswell as the aforementioned reference sample position and the motioninformation of the first layer sample position corresponding thereto.

The sample position of the first layer corresponding to a referencesample position of the second layer may be calculated as illustrated inEquation 1 below by considering the size of an inter-layer image.

xRef=(xP*picWRL+ScaledW/2)/ScaledW

yRef=(yP*picHRL+ScaledH/2)/ScaledH  [Equation 1]

Where, x Ref and yRef represent the sample position of the first layer,xP and Yp represent the reference sample position of the second layer,ScaledW and ScaledH represent horizontal and vertical sizes of the firstlayer picture, and picWRL and picHRL represent horizontal and verticalsizes of the first layer picture.

For example, when the motion information of the first layer iscompressed and stored by the unit of 16×16, the sample position of thefirst layer calculated by Equation 1 may be adjusted to use 16×16-unitmotion information through Equation 2 below.

xRL=(xRef>>4)<<4

yRL=(yRef>>4)<<4  [Equation 2]

As another example, when the motion information of the first layer iscompressed and stored by the unit of 8×8, the sample position of thefirst layer calculated by Equation 1 may be adjusted to use 8×8-unitmotion information through Equation 3 below.

xRL=(xRef>>3)<<3

yRL=(yRef>>3)<<3  [Equation 3]

When the prediction mode of the first layer sample positioncorresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer isthe intra prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use (0,0) as a motion vector value of the corresponding block of the secondlayer and allocate a value of −1 to the reference picture index and thereference picture POC of the corresponding block of the second layer.

Alternatively, when the prediction mode of the first layer sampleposition corresponding to the reference sample position of the secondlayer is the intra prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus mayuse (0, 0) as the motion vector value of the corresponding block of thesecond layer and allocate a specific value (for example, allocate 0 tothe reference picture index and a POC of a picture indicated by thereference picture index to the reference picture POC) to the referencepicture index and the reference picture POC of the corresponding blockof the second layer.

When the prediction mode of the first layer sample positioncorresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer isthe inter prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use, asthe motion information of the corresponding block of the second layer,the motion vector value of the first layer sample position, thereference picture index, and the reference picture POC.

In case of using the motion vector of the first layer, theencoding/decoding apparatus may use the motion vector of the first layerby reflecting the size of the inter-layer image as illustrated inEquation 4 below.

mvLX[xP][yP][0]=(mvLXRL[xRL][yRL][0]*ScaledW+offset)/PicWRL

mvLX[xP][yP][1]=(mvLXRL[xRL][yRL][1]*ScaledH+offset)/PicHRL  [Equation4]

The encoding/decoding apparatus may use, as information of thecorresponding block of the second layer, picture type information(picture type information regarding whether the reference picture beinga short-term reference picture or a long-term reference picture) of thereference picture which the corresponding block of the first layercorresponding to the block of the second layer refers to.

The aforementioned inter-layer motion information mapping may bedetermined in a higher level and the encoding apparatus may transmitinformation related with the inter-layer motion information mapping inthe higher level. The decoding apparatus may acquire the inter-layermotion information mapping related information from the higher level.

The higher level may be a video parameter set (VPS), a sequenceparameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), a slice segmentheader, and the like.

Hereinafter, a method for signaling the motion information mappingrelated information in the higher level according to an embodiment ofthe present invention will be described.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, informationrelated to motion information mapping of a corresponding layer in theVPS may be signaled as represented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 vps_extension( ) { Descriptor  for ( i = 1; i <=vps_max_layer_id; i++)    inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag [i] u(1) }

Referring to Table 1, when inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, motioninformation mapping of an i-th layer may not be performed.

When inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping ofthe i-th layer may be performed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, informationrelated to motion information mapping of a corresponding layer inextension of the SPS may be signaled as represented in Table 2.

TABLE 2 sps_extension( ) { Descriptor    sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flagu(1) }

Referring to Table 2, when sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, motioninformation mapping of the first layer may not be performed.

When sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion informationmapping of the first layer may be performed.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, whether totransmit information (for example, sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag) thatindicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of thecorresponding layer may be determined according to information (forexample, sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag) that indicates whether to use atemporal motion vector prediction transmitted in the SPS as representedin Table 3.

TABLE 3 sps_extension( ) { Descriptor   if (sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag)    sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) }

Referring to Table 3, when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, whichindicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction,sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicateswhether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.

When sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 andsps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of thefirst layer may not be used in the second layer. That is, areconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as a temporalmotion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, whether toperform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer may bedetermined by the value of sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag withouttransmitting sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag as represented in Table 3.For example, it is regarded that sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 to perform the motioninformation mapping of the corresponding layer. It is regarded thatsps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0 when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flagis 0 to perform the motion information mapping of the correspondinglayer.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, theinformation related to the motion information mapping of thecorresponding layer in extension of the PPS may be signaled asrepresented in Table 4.

TABLE 4 pps_extension( ) { Descriptor    pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flagu(1) }

Referring to Table 4, when pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, themotion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.

When pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion informationmapping of the first layer may be performed.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, theinformation related to the motion information mapping of thecorresponding layer in extension of the slice segment header may besignaled as represented in Table 5.

TABLE 5 if ( Slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) Descriptor   slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) }

Referring to Table 5, when slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, themotion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.

When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion informationmapping of the first layer may be performed.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, theinformation related to the motion information mapping of thecorresponding layer in the extension of the slice segment header may besignaled as represented in Table 6.

TABLE 6 if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) Descriptor  if ( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag )   slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) }

Referring to Table 6, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, whichindicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction,slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicateswhether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is transmitted only in a layer (thatis, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer and in case of theenhancement layer, when there is no layer used for a motion prediction,slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may not be transmitted. When thecorresponding flag is not present, a value of the corresponding flagvalue may be inferred as 0.

When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 andslice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of thefirst layer may not be used in the second layer. That is, thereconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as the temporalmotion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.

When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is transmitted in the layer (thatis, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer,slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be present aboveslice_segement_header_extension_present_flag in the slice segment headerof the layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layeras represented in Table 7.

TABLE 7 slice_sgement_header( ) { Descriptor  if (slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag )    slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flagu(1) }

Referring to Table 7, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, whichindicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction,slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicateswhether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.

When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 andslice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of thefirst layer may not be used in the second layer. That is, thereconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as the temporalmotion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.

When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 andslice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information of thefirst layer may be used in the second layer. That is, after the motioninformation of the first layer is mapped to the size of the secondlayer, the reconstructed image of the first layer may be used as acollocated picture (ColPic) for the TMVP of the second layer.

When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, information on thecollocated picture (ColPic) of the first layer for the TMVP of thesecond layer may be signaled through additional syntax information asrepresented in Table 8. For example, information of a referred layer maybe known through collocated_ref_layer_idx and motion information of thereference layer collocated picture may be mapped to the image size ofthe second layer. Further, in case of a B slice, a reference picturelist direction where the picture of the reference layer is positionedwhich may be used as the collocated picture may be determined throughcollocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag.

TABLE 8 slice_segment_header( ) {  if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ){   slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1)  if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable flag ) {    collocated_ref_layer_idxue(v)    if ( slice_type == B)      collocated_ref_layer_from_l0_flag  }   else {     if( slice_type == B )     collocated_from_l0_flag u(1)    if( ( collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l0_active_minus1 > 0 )||     ( !collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l1_active_minus1 > 0 ))      collocated_ref_idx ue(v)    }  } }

Referring to Table 8, collocated_ref_layer_idx is an indicator thatindicates information of the reference layer used for the motionprediction when the number of reference layers used for the motionprediction is 2 or more. When the number of reference layers used forthe motion prediction is 1, collocated_ref_layer_idx may be skipped. Inthis case, a restriction that all slices in the picture need to have thesame value may be imposed.

collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is transmitted in the B slice. When avalue of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is 1, a picture that ispresent in LIST0 is set as the collocated picture (ColPic). When thevalue of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is 0, a picture that ispresent in LIST1 is set as the collocated picture (ColPic). Thereafter,during acquiring a motion vector of a collocated block (ColPb) in thecollocated picture (ColPic), the value ofcollocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag may be used as the same meaninginstead of collocated_from_I0_flag. In this case, the restriction thatall slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.Alternatively, during acquiring the motion vector of the collocatedblock (ColPb) in the collocated picture (ColPic), when the collocatedblock has motion information in directions of LIST0 and LIST1, motioninformation in the same direction as a direction indicated by a currentencoding/decoding target picture may be brought.

When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a listdirection and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known byusing collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using themotion information of the reference layer.

When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the information on thecollocated picture (ColPic) of the first layer for the TMVP of thesecond layer and the information on the reference picture list directionmay be signaled through additional syntax information as represented inTable 9. For example, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, thereference picture list direction of the collocated picture may bedetermined from the value of collocated_from_I0_flag, and a referredlayer may be known from the value of collocated_ref_layer_idx.

TABLE 9 slice_segment_header( ) {  if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ){   if ( slice_type == B)     collocated_from_l0_flag   slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1)   if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ) {     collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v)   }   else {    if( (collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l0_active_minus1 > 0 ) ||     (!collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l1_active_minus1 > 0 ) )      collocated_ref_idx ue(v)   }  } }

Referring to Table 9, collocated_from_I0_flag indicates the referencepicture list direction to which the collocated picture belongs whenslice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and in case of the B slice. Whencollocated_from_I0_flag is not present, collocated_from_I0_flag may beinferred as 1. In this case, the restriction that all slices in thepicture need to have the same value may be imposed.

collocated_ref_layer_idx is an indicator that indicates information ofthe reference layer used for the motion prediction when the number ofreference layers used for the motion prediction is 2 or more. When thenumber of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 1,collocated_ref_layer_idx may be skipped. In this case, the restrictionthat all slices in the picture need to have the same value may beimposed. The list direction for the collocated picture may be determinedfrom collocated_from_I0_flag transmitted in the higher layer.

When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a listdirection and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known byusing collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using themotion information of the reference layer.

When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, information of a referredlayer may be known through collocated_ref_layer_idx and the motioninformation of the reference layer collocated picture may be mapped tothe image size of the second layer, as represented in Table 10. In thiscase, according to a slice type, in case of a P slice, the picture ofthe reference layer which is present in LIST0 is set as the collocatedpicture and in case of the B slice, one direction of LIST0 and LIST1 isregulated and the picture of the corresponding reference layer is set asthe collocated picture to be similarly used by the encoding/decodingapparatus.

When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a listdirection and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known byusing collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using themotion information of the reference layer.

TABLE 10 slice_segment_header( ){  if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ){   slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1)  if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag) {     collocated_ref_layer_idxue(v)    }   else {     if( slice_type == B )    collocated_from_l0_flag u(1)     if( ( collocated_from_l0_flag &&num_ref_idx_l0_active_minus1 > 0 ) ||     ( !collocated_from_l0_flag &&num_ref_idx_l1_active_minus1 > 0 ) )      collocated_ref_idx ue(v)    } } }

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, when thepicture is divided into N independent slices,slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flags in respective slice segment headersneed to have the same value and one motion information mapping processper picture may be performed according to the value ofslice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag in a first independence slice segmentheader.

In the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention,‘sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag’ transmitted in the higher level isused as information that indicates whether to perform the motioninformation mapping, but the information is extended to be used asinformation that indicates whether to perform an inter-layer syntaxprediction. For example, when sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_fla is 1, theinter-layer syntax (motion information) prediction may be performed aswell as the motion information mapping.

In the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, a separatesyntax that indicates whether to perform the motion information mappingis used, but the motion information mapping may be performed accordingto a syntax information value regarding execution of the inter-layerprediction without transmitting the separate syntax.

In the present invention, it may be judged whether to perform the motioninformation mapping by using the syntax information that indicateswhether to perform the inter-layer prediction signaled in the higherlayer. The syntax information that indicates whether to perform theinter-layer prediction may be signaled in the higher level.

Where, the higher level may be the video parameter set (VPS), thesequence parameter set (SPS), the picture parameter set (PPS), the slicesegment header, and the like.

According to an embodiment of the present invention a syntax thatindicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction may betransmitted in the VPS as represented in Table 11.

TABLE 11 vps_extension( ) { Descriptor  for ( i = 1; i <=vps_max_layer_id; i++)    no_inter_layer_pred_flag [i] u(1) }

Referring to Table 11, in the case where the syntax that indicateswhether to perform the inter-layer prediction is transmitted in the VPS,when no_inter_layer_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping maynot be performed and when no_inter_layer_pred_flag is 0, the motioninformation mapping may be performed.

In the present invention, it may be judged whether to perform the motioninformation mapping by using the syntax information that indicateswhether to perform the inter-layer .syntax prediction signaled in thehigher layer. The syntax information that indicates whether to performthe inter-layer syntax prediction may be signaled in the higher level.

Where, the higher level may be the video parameter set (VPS), thesequence parameter set (SPS), the picture parameter set (PPS), the slicesegment header, and the like.

According to an embodiment of the present invention a syntax thatindicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may betransmitted in the PPS as represented in Table 12.

TABLE 12 if ( pps extension_flag ) Descriptor   no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag u(1) }

Referring to Table 12, in the case where the syntax that indicateswhether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction is transmitted inthe PPS, when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 0, the motioninformation mapping may be performed and whenno_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping maynot be performed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention a syntax thatindicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may betransmitted in the syntax segment heard as represented in Table 13.

TABLE 13 if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) Descriptor   no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag u(1) }

Referring to Table 13, in the case where the syntax that indicateswhether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction is transmitted inthe slice segment header, when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 0, themotion information mapping may be performed and whenno_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping maynot be performed.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the encoding/decoding apparatus adds theinformation of the first layer to the reference picture list of thesecond layer to encode/decode the image of the second layer (S420).

That is, the encoding/decoding apparatus may add decoded sample valuesand motion information of the first layer mapped to the second layerimage size to the reference picture list for the currentencoding/decoding target image of the second layer through steps S400 toS410 described above, and configure the reference picture list of thesecond layer image by using the added information of the first layer. Inaddition, the encoding/decoding apparatus may perform the interprediction of generating the prediction signal for the image of thesecond layer based on the reference picture list.

When the reference picture list of the second layer is configured, thedecoded image of the first layer may be added to a last position of thereference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image ofthe second layer.

Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to aspecific position of the reference picture list for the currentencoding/decoding target image of the second layer. In this case, thespecific position may be known in the higher level (for example, theVPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like) or thespecific position may be designated by a determined regulation withouttransmitting additional information.

Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added toreference picture lists L0 and L1 for the current encoding/decodingtarget image of the second layer. In this case, positions added to thereference picture lists L0 and L1 may be the same as each other ordifferent from each other. For example, the decoded image of the firstlayer may be added to a first position in the reference picture list L0and the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a last positionin the reference picture list L1.

Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to anyone of the reference picture list directions L0 and L1 for the currentencoding/decoding target image of the second layer. For example, whenthe current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer isencoded/decoded to the B slice, the decoded image of the first layer maybe added to only the reference picture list L0 or the reference picturelist L1.

In this case, when the decoded image of the first layer is added to aspecific-direction reference picture list, there may be known a positionin the specific-direction reference picture list to which the decodedimage of the first layer is to be added in the higher level (forexample, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and thelike) or a specific position may be designated according to a determinedregulation without transmitting additional information.

Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added todifferent positions of the reference picture list depending on a depthby using hierarchical depth information of a prediction structure. Inthis case, information on the positions may be known in the higher level(for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, andthe like). For example, the position in the reference picture list towhich the decoded image of the first layer is added may vary based on avalue of a temporal level (temporal_Id) depending on the hierarchicaldepth. As one example, in the case where the temporal level temporal_Idis equal to or more than 2, the decoded image of the first layer may beadded to the last position and in the case where the temporal leveltemporal_Id is less than 2, the decoded image of the first layer may beadded to the first position of the reference picture list. In this case,a reference temporal level value may be known in the higher level (forexample, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and thelike).

The decoded image of the first layer may include the decoded motioninformation of the first layer mapped to the image size of the secondlayer as well as the decoded sample values of the first layer.

The encoding/decoding apparatus may add the decoded image of the firstlayer to the reference picture list for the current encoding/decodingtarget image of the second layer by the aforementioned method andthereafter, predict the current encoding target image of the secondlayer by a general inter-prediction method.

When the prediction is performed by using the decoded image of the firstlayer as a reference signal of the current encoding target image of thesecond layer (when the inter-layer prediction is performed), theencoding apparatus may use as a prediction signal a first layer samplevalue at the same position as a prediction block in the current encodingtarget image without a motion predicting process. In this case, theencoding apparatus may not transmit motion information (for example, amotion vector difference value, a motion prediction candidate flag, andthe like) of a corresponding block.

The decoding apparatus may use as the prediction signal the first layersample value at the same position as the prediction block in the currentdecoding target image without decoding the motion information (forexample, the motion vector difference value, the motion predictioncandidate flag, and the like) for the prediction block in the currentdecoding target image of the second layer when the an image indicated bythe reference picture index of the second layer is the decoded image ofthe first layer in the reference picture list.

When an image indicated by the reference picture index of the currentdecoding target block of the second layer is the decoded image of thefirst layer in the reference picture list (when the inter-layerprediction is performed), the decoding apparatus may predict the currentdecoding target block of the second layer by judging whether to decodethe motion information (for example, the motion vector difference value,the motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) for the currentdecoding target block of the second layer based on informationtransmitted in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS,the slice segment header, and the like).

Table 14 represents one example of a syntax in which information(sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag) that indicates whether an inter-layermotion vector has a value of (0, 0) is transmitted in the SPS.

TABLE 14 sps_extension( ) { Descriptor     sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flagu(1) }

Referring to Table 14, when sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag transmitted inthe SPS has a value of 1 and the reference picture index of the currentdecoding target block indicates the decoded image of the first layer inthe reference picture list, the decoding apparatus may use, as theprediction signal for the current decoding target block, the decodedsample value of the first layer image which has the same position as thecurrent target block without decoding the motion vector difference valueand the motion prediction candidate flag.

When sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag transmitted in the SPS has a value of0 and the reference picture index of the current decoding target blockindicates the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picturelist, the decoding apparatus may decode the motion vector differencevalue and the motion prediction candidate flag and thereafter, acquire amotion vector value, and use, as the prediction signal for the currentdecoding target block, the decoded sample value of the first layer imagewhich is at a position of the acquired motion vector value.

Meanwhile, the encoding apparatus may use the decoded image of the firstlayer as a collocated picture for predicting the temporal motion vectorof the second layer in order to use the mapped motion information of thefirst layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the currentencoding target block of the second layer. In this case, the encodingapparatus may designate the decoded image of the first layer as thecollocated image through information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicatesthe collocated picture in the slice segment header.

When the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocatedpicture in the slice segment header transmitted in the encoder indicatesthe decoded image of the first layer, the decoding apparatus may use themapped motion information of the first layer as the temporal motionvector candidate of the second layer.

When the mapped motion information of the first layer is used as thetemporal motion vector candidate of the second layer, theencoding/decoding apparatus may use at least one of the mapped motioninformation of the first layer, that is, at least one of the referencepicture POC, the reference picture list, and the picture type (theshort-term picture and the long-term reference picture) of the referencepicture and scale and use a motion vector of the second layer accordingto a temporal distance by using one or more pieces of mapped motioninformation of the first layer.

When the prediction is performed by adding only the decoded referencesample values of the first layer image to the reference picture listwithout permitting the motion information mapping of the first layer,the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocatedpicture may be restricted in a standard document so as not to indicatethe decoded image of the first layer as the collocated picture.

As another example of using the mapped motion information of the firstlayer as the motion information of the second layer, the mapped motioninformation of the first layer may be used as not the temporal motionvector candidate of the second layer but an additional candidate mode.In this case, the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates thecollocated picture may be restricted in the standard document so as notto indicate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocatedpicture, so that the temporal motion vector candidate of the secondlayer is induced from the reference picture of the second layer.Further, in order to use the motion information of the first layermapped to the additional candidate mode, the encoding apparatus mayadditionally transmit an index (for example, base_ref_idx) that mayindicate a position of the mapped image of the first layer in thereference picture list in the slice segment header, and the like in theslice segment header, and the like. A position of the additionalcandidate mode in the reference picture list may be applied similarly tothe encoding apparatus and the decoding apparatus.

The method according to the present invention is prepared as a programfor being executed in a computer to be stored in a computer-readablemedium, and examples of the computer readable recording medium includeROM, RAM, CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical datastoring device and the computer readable recording medium may also beimplemented in a form of a carrier wave (for example, transmissionthrough the Internet).

Further, the computer-readable recording media are distributed oncomputer systems connected through the network, and thus thecomputer-readable recording media may be stored and executed as thecomputer-readable code by a distribution scheme. Further, functionalprograms, codes, and code segments for implementing the method may beeasily inferred by a programmer in a technical field to which thepresent invention belongs.

In the aforementioned embodiments, methods have been described based onflowcharts as a series of steps or blocks, but the methods are notlimited to the order of the steps of the present invention and any stepmay occur in a step or an order different from or simultaneously as theaforementioned step or order. Further, it can be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that steps shown in the flowcharts are not exclusiveand other steps may be included or one or more steps do not influencethe scope of the present invention and may be deleted.

While some exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled inthe art may change, modify, and substitute the present invention invarious ways without departing from the essential characteristic of thepresent invention. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed hereinare not intended to limit the technical spirit but describe with thetrue scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims. The scopeof the present invention may be interpreted by the appended claims andthe technical spirit in the equivalent range are intended to be embracedby the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for image decoding that supports aplurality of layers, the method comprising: decoding information of afirst layer which a picture of a second layer including a currentdecoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the firstlayer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a referencepicture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mappedinformation of the first layer; and generating prediction samples of thecurrent decoding target block by predicting the current decoding targetblock of the second layer based on the reference picture list, whereinthe information of the first layer includes at least one of a samplevalue and motion information of the first layer picture.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein in the mapping of the information of the firstlayer, a sample of the first layer picture is upsampled to the picturesize of the second layer.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein in themapping of the information of the first layer, the motion information ofthe first layer picture is mapped to the picture size of the secondlayer.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the mapping of the informationof the first layer includes, dividing the picture of the second layerinto N×N unit blocks; inducing a sample position of the first layercorresponding to the N×N unit blocks of the second layer including thecurrent decoding target block; and determining motion information of thecurrent decoding target block by mapping the motion information of thesample position of the first layer.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinthe sample position of the first layer corresponds to a reference sampleposition in the N×N unit blocks of the second layer, and the N×N unitblocks are 16×16 unit blocks.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving information on the motion information mapping ofthe first layer picture, wherein the information on the motioninformation mapping of the first layer picture is included in at leastone of a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), apicture parameter set (PPS), and a slice segment header.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein in the configuring of the reference picture list forthe picture of the second layer, the mapped information of the firstlayer is added to a predetermined position in the reference picturelist.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein in the generating of theprediction samples of the current decoding target block, when areference picture index of the current decoding target block indicatesthe mapped information of the first layer in the reference picture list,the first layer sample which is at the same position as the currentdecoding target block is induced to the prediction sample of the currentdecoding target block.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the mappedinformation of the first layer is used as a temporal motion vectorcandidate for the current decoding target block of the second layer. 10.An apparatus for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers, theapparatus comprising: a decoding module which decodes information of afirst layer which a picture of a second layer including a currentencoding target block refers to; and a prediction module which maps theinformation of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer,configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layerby adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generatesprediction samples of the current decoding target block by predictingthe current decoding target block of the second layer based on thereference picture list, wherein the information of the first layerincludes at least one of a sample value and motion information of thefirst layer picture.
 11. A method for image encoding that supports aplurality of layers, the method comprising: decoding information of afirst layer which a picture of a second layer including a currentencoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the firstlayer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a referencepicture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mappedinformation of the first layer; and generating prediction samples of thecurrent encoding target block by predicting the current encoding targetblock of the second layer based on the reference picture list, whereinthe information of the first layer includes at least one of a samplevalue and motion information of the first layer picture.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein in the mapping of the information of the firstlayer, a sample of the first layer picture is upsampled to the picturesize of the second layer.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein in themapping of the information of the first layer, the motion information ofthe first layer picture is mapped to the picture size of the secondlayer.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the mapping of theinformation of the first layer includes, dividing the picture of thesecond layer into N×N unit blocks; inducing a sample position of thefirst layer corresponding to the N×N unit blocks of the second layerincluding the current encoding target block; and determining motioninformation of the current encoding target block by mapping the motioninformation of the sample position of the first layer.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the sample position of the first layer corresponds toa reference sample position in the N×N unit blocks of the second layer,and the N×N unit blocks are 16×16 unit blocks.
 16. The method of claim11, further comprising transmitting information on the motioninformation mapping of the first layer picture, wherein the informationon the motion information mapping of the first layer picture is includedin at least one of a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set(SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), and a slice segment header. 17.The method of claim 11, wherein in the configuring of the referencepicture list for the picture of the second layer, the mapped informationof the first layer is added to a predetermined position in the referencepicture list.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein in the generating ofthe prediction samples of the current encoding target block, when areference picture index of the current decoding target block indicatesthe mapped information of the first layer in the reference picture list,the first layer sample which is at the same position as the currentencoding target block is induced to the prediction sample of the currentencoding target block.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the mappedinformation of the first layer is used as a temporal motion vectorcandidate for the current encoding target block of the second layer. 20.An apparatus for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, theapparatus comprising: an encoding module which decodes information of afirst layer which a picture of a second layer including a currentencoding target block refers to; and a prediction module which maps theinformation of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer,configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layerby adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generatesprediction samples of the current encoding target block by predictingthe current encoding target block of the second layer based on thereference picture list, wherein the information of the first layerincludes at least one of a sample value and motion information of thefirst layer picture.